Page 32 - PWM2023_December EBook

TECHNOLOGY REPORT

Navigating the social media

landscape

Smith points out, employers shouldn’t react if a post is
ot quite a newspaper and more than cor- just disagreeable. She says this because “employment tri-
respondence, social media has the power to bunals look closely at an employer’s justification for tak-
The perfect tool to push a message or image around the world ing disciplinary action based on damage to its reputation
or bringing it into disrepute”. It’s all about evidence
at the speed of light and help it replicate
push the boundaries Nfaster than the most toxic of viruses. rather than speculation.
of freedom of speech Damaging comment, once out in the wild, is unstoppable. Then there’s abusive and offensive comments made by
or the devil’s own Like it or not, social media is here to stay and because an employee about another that may well constitute har-
work. it’s so free and easy to abuse, businesses need to apply assment and, as such, be actionable under the Equality
plenty of thought as to the controls they put in place to Act 2010. As Smith notes, “harassment or bullying online
protect both the organisation and those they employ or can also lead to a claim under the Protection from
Words by Harassment Act 1997... there must have been more than
work with.
Adam Bernstein one occasion of the harassment or bullying.
The risks to a business Indeed, Mark Stevens, a senior associate at VWV,
thinks the same and remarks that while employees may
For Beverley Smith, an associate solicitor at ESPHR, connect with co-workers in an online world to enhance
social media is a double-edged sword for employers. As relationships, “these online interactions can create the
she explains, “businesses cannot afford not to have a potential for inappropriate behaviour and online harass-
social media presence to promote their brand”. But she ment. Often the forum that such activity takes place in is
firmly thinks that “without adequate protection to guard not accessible or monitored by the employer, making it
their business and reputation against abuse, the misuse of difficult to police”.
social media can pose a significant risk for employers, Worryingly, Smith tells that employers can be held lia-
whether inside or outside the workplace.” Social media ble for their employee’s actions, as was the case for
has blurred private and public worlds and created the risk Carphone Warehouse, which was held to be vicariously
for an employer of reputational damage. However, as liable when an employee’s colleagues stole his phone and

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